#back to krypton

[chaotic-super]

Back To Krypton - Chapter 41

Read it on AO3 here!

“Good morning, sunshine,” Alex grumbles from the couch as Kara strides out of the hallway. “You look nice.”

“Thanks.” Kara smiles. “I’m just going to grab a quick bite and then head off. I want to get a good chunk of time at the lab today before I take you guys out later for another excursion.”

Lena frowns, sitting next to Alex before she is forced to move by the heavy weight of Alex’s glare. Kelly sits between the pair in the spot Lena just vacated not ten seconds later, and Alex’s glare lets up to make way for a soft smile.

Looking at her with pinched brows, Lena looks confused. “Wait, why are you going back again? You spent quite a while there yesterday after we got back from the Jewel Mountains.”

“I know. I just promised I’d help with what I can, I don’t want them to turn around at the end of these few days and try and say that I didn’t uphold any part of my side of the deal. I want this to be a clean break, and to do that, I have to make sure that I’m playing the good little girl I was back in the day when this planet was still my home. As long as they see that, I think they’ll behave themselves.”

Alex jumps in as she wraps an arm around Kelly’s shoulders. “Why are you going now though? Can’t you go later on?”

“I could, but the place I want to take you is somewhere quite warm, and no, it’s not the Firefalls just yet. It cools off mid-afternoon, making the trip much more pleasant for us. I think you’ll like it, but it’s very much something you can’t do earlier on, so I’m going to go and spend some time with my father before I come back and pick you up.”

Esme seems to pop up out of nowhere, her hands clutching at the soft pleats in Kara’s dress, a light lilac number that makes Lena create a mental note to buy her more purple clothes when they’re back on Earth. She looks downright regal, and she’s totally not resisting the urge to bow at her feet. That would be ludicrous.

“Aunt Kara?”

“Hey, bud!” Kara grins down at her niece, startled by her sudden appearance but way too excited at seeing her at her side to care.

“I want to come with you.”

Kara presses her lips together tightly, her smile straining. She doesn’t know how to handle this one and looks to Alex and Kelly for assistance.

Kelly, ever the hero, comes to her rescue. “Esme, baby, she has to work. It would be super boring for you in the lab with her and her father.”

“But I want to be like Aunt Kara and sit at the desk while she talks to me about science like she said she did.”

The pieces click in Kara’s mind. She has mentioned more than once how her father used to take her to the lab with him and use her as a sounding board while he worked through his projects. It made her feel like a real scientist and only gave her all the more enthusiasm towards her studies so she could one day stand beside him as an equal in that lab.

She supposes that on some level, she has gotten there now. Maybe not in the way she had imagined and not with the qualifications she aimed for under her belt, but she’s beside him nonetheless. Now Esme wants to be beside her and feel that same joy she once felt.

“I want to go.” Esme presses herself to Kara’s leg, wrapping her arms around it and leaning into her as Kara’s hand drops to the back of her head, stroking her hair out of her face.

Kara shrugs at the little girl’s parents. “I can take her but she might get bored. I have no doubts that it’ll be safe for her there. Nobody will try anything.”

“I’m not worried about that.” Alex shakes her head before continuing. “Well, I am, but that’s not my main concern. Will you be able to finish everything when you’re looking after her?”

Nodding firmly, Kara smiles at them. “I’ll be good. I’d love a little bonding time with my niece. It’s been a while.”

“If you’re sure, go for it.” Kelly gives in without much of a fight.

“Alrighty then, Miss Esme. It looks like you’re joining me for a trip into the city today. Do you want to take anything with you in case you get bored?” Kara tucks a stray tuft of light brown hair behind her niece’s ear.

Esme nods. “I want my teddy.”

“Go grab him then and once we’ve had breakfast we’ll head off.”

“Ok!” Esme shouts, running through the accommodation to go and fetch her teddy before either Alex or Kelly can call out and tell her not to run.

The group watches her go with fond smiles across all of their faces.

“She’s my favourite.” Kara declares until Nia walks over and hands her a plate of food. “I take that back. She’s joint-favourite with Nia.”

Nia punches the air with a grin. “Yes!”

“Hey!” Lena sticks her tongue out at Kara and Nia.

Nia sticks her tongue out back, raising her middle finger at her, which is quickly returned. “I win. I bet this means she’s going to tell me her plan before you guys too.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Kara says, sitting down and balancing the plate on her lap so she can dig in.

Alex tilts her head at her, clearly annoyed. “When are you going to let us in on the plan, Kara?”

“Later. When I take you out of the city tonight, I’ll tell you the plan. I have to. We start working on it tomorrow. For today though, I want us to have fun. Think you can wait?”

Alex sighs. “Do we have a choice?”

“Not really.” Kara shrugs.

“Then we can wait.” Kelly chimes in. “We trust you and we’ve got your back, Kara.”

“Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. Now, I’m going to eat this and then Esme and I will head off. I want you to just relax and prepare yourselves for a nice day. Make sure to dress in something appropriate for lots of sun, and by that, I mean cover up. Sunburn sucks.”

Nia salutes her mockingly. “Aye aye, captain.”

-

“Kara? Is that you, Inah?” Alura calls out as Kara walks into the apartment.

In lieu of an answer, Kara just walks out into the living area where her parents are sitting on the couch, each reading from a separate information crystal.

“Oh, you brought Esme with you.” Zor-El’s eyes are wide with surprise.

“I did, I hope that’s alright. I thought that maybe I could talk her through some things the same way you used to when I was little.”

Zor-El softens his gaze, looking into Esme’s eyes. “Are you excited to learn about science?”

Esme nods her head rapidly, one arm clutched tightly around her teddy and the other clinging to Kara’s hand. “Aunt Kara is going to teach me.”

“She is? I’ve heard she’s an outstanding teacher.” Zor-El smiles.

Esme shuffles a little closer to Kara, her nervousness kicking up in the presence of Kara’s parents. Kara looks down at her and can’t help but wonder if taking her away from her friends and kids her own age could have done some damage to her socially. It’s been months, and to a four, almost five-year-old, that’s a long time.

Alura watches the way Esme nuzzles into Kara’s side with sadness. She knows Kara will grow up without them. At this point it’s undeniable, and Kara has spelt it out for them very clearly. However, facing her daughter standing before her, all grown up and with a small child beside her, makes it real. She’s never going to see Kara with a child of her own. She’s not going to see her mature and find her way in the world. Any world. She’s just going to lose her, and if she lives past sending her away, she’ll lose herself too.

Kara clears her throat. “I like to think I’m a pretty good teacher. I’ve been teaching her about Krypton on our travels and it’s gone great. She’s been learning, and I’ve had the chance to relive and remember many things I hadn’t thought about in a really long time.”

Zor-El swallows thickly. “I can’t wait to see you in action. It was truly wonderful to see you in your element in the lab last night, so to see you stretch your wings and add teaching young Esme here will be a treat for everyone to see.”

Kara is not sure what to do with that compliment, so she fixes a polite smile on her face and nods, placating him with a simple movement. “Shall we get going then so you can see it in person?”

“Of course. Please allow me a few moments to grab my things.” Zor-El claps his hands together once as he stands and passes the pair with a squeeze to Kara’s shoulder.

Kara’s gaze follows him dutifully as he leaves the room with hurried steps before she focuses on her mom. “Will you be joining us in the lab today? I half expected you to be there last night.”

“I can only join you for a short while, unfortunately. I have an important meeting to attend that I cannot miss. Likewise, I also had an important meeting last night. The council is very aware of the planet's state now and they know we don’t have much longer unless something is done. Your father’s plan has been approved now. Your plan has been approved now.”

“We were working on it before it was approved?”

“Did you think we would wait for it to be approved when the planet is in danger?”

“Good point.” Kara gives in easily. She can’t deny the logic.

Zor-El reappears with a smile. “I’m ready.”

“Ok, let’s go,” Kara announces, looking down at Esme and their linked hands for a moment before they head back out to the pod.

-

Finishing up in the lab for the day, Kara carries Esme’s teddy out to the pod for her, carefully holding it close, both arms wrapped around it. Her niece skips a couple of steps ahead of her with more excitement than she expected her to have. She may have mentioned where they’re going for their day trip and a few cool features of their destination that now have her practically vibrating with enthusiasm and excitement.  

Zor-El walks beside her, his eyes naturally falling on Esme and watching her to ensure she doesn’t get hurt as he talks to Kara. “We got much done today. We should complete a large portion of the project before you leave.”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” Kara says. They’ve been avoiding the topic of her leaving while they are in the lab, but she guesses that now they’re out of there, her father has garnered the courage to bring it up, albeit passively.

“Will you be joining me in the lab again tomorrow?”

Kara hums. “Yeah. I’m just thinking. I think I’m going to take my family to the Firefalls tomorrow. Would it be better for me to take them early in the day or wait for the evening?”

Zor-El takes a moment to ponder the question, one hand coming up to stroke his stubbled chin. “Hmm, that’s an excellent question. If you visit in the morning, you will have a better view of the general area as well as the falls. However, if you go in the evening and wait for dusk, you will see the true illumination of the falls. I would say that the latter will be a much more memorable sight for Esme, perhaps something she will carry with her for a long time.”

“I’m really hoping that she’s made a lot of memories here that nobody can take away from her. She’s only young but I hope she doesn’t forget.”

“She will. We all will one day. You won’t though. You won’t forget her smiles. They’ll be scarred onto your heart, just like yours are scarred onto mine.” He pauses, a wistful smile gracing his lips. “I took you to see the falls in the morning. I wish I had waited, but I was impatient to take you. Take them in the evening.”

Kara ducks her head, her gaze falling to the carpeted floor as her feet shuffle forward. She takes a deep breath before changing the subject somewhat. “How has your time with young me been working out for you?”

“Great.” He smiles to himself. “You’ve been practically attached to my hip the past few days. You love that your mother and I have been making sure to have at least one meal together each day, and we’ve been reading a book by Kir-Wat. It’s about the—”

“The planet in the next solar system over. Jespern, if I remember correctly. Pretty much every creature there is radioactive, and the only reason we know is because of the probes that were sent down to the planet’s surface and then brought back up killed every scientist on board the ship sent over to investigate.”

Zor-El nods approvingly. “Yes. You remember it?”

“I do. It's not the kind of bedtime reading the average twelve-year-old goes for, but I quite enjoyed it. Plus, I was proud I beat you.”

“You remember we agreed to race to see who can finish first?”

“Yes. I was convinced that you let me win, but now I see that it was just because your mind is somewhere much more important.”

He shrugs, his pointer finger drawn as he grimaces guiltily. “I actually already won. I’m not telling young you that, obviously. My competitive streak won out and I read the whole thing in one night. I had to sleep in considerably later the next morning but stayed late in the lab to ensure my work was still done. I get to win and young you will get to win too. Apparently, I don’t hide it well though since you had an inkling.”

“Your poker face really needs more work.”

“My what?”

Kara’s brain freezes for a second before she understands why her father isn’t understanding her. “Your lying face. Poker is a game of cards on Earth that requires players to be able to fool their opponents. To do so, they must not express their intentions and feelings through facial their expressions, hence why it’s called a poker face. You have a terrible one and would lose that game rather quickly.”

“I do not doubt that you’re correct, Inah. That game sounds fascinating. Perhaps we could discuss it over lunch tomorrow?”

“Sure, but I think Esme will want to come again, and any card game will get derailed so she can teach you how to play Go Fish.”

His eyebrows furrow. “I’m not certain how fish relate to cards, but I’m certain that I will try my best to learn the game quickly so I can play with Esme. She’s a delightful little girl; no doubt she takes after her aunt.”

“I’m not going to take any credit. She’s just amazing. My sister is doing a great job with her. I couldn’t be prouder.”

Shaking his head, Zor-El runs his fingers through his hair as they reach the pod. “That still sounds strange. I’ve had time to process it, but it still doesn’t sound quite right to me. You have a sister. My daughter has a sister.”

Kara’s not sure where he’s going with it so she focuses on getting Esme into the pod. She settles her into her seat before placing the teddy down beside her, tucking it under the little girl’s arm.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to upset you.”

Kara turns around to see her father looking at her, a vague look of shame overtaking him.

“I’m not upset. You’re welcome to your feelings and I can understand how this isn’t easy for you, just as it’s not easy for me. You’re facing your child who has grown up without her parents being able to be there for her teenage years and having to come to terms with the fact that other people filled the role you and mom vowed to fulfil back when you submitted your application for use of the birthing matrix.”

“That doesn’t give me the right to make you feel as though I’m criticizing those people. They took care of you when we couldn’t and for that, I will always be eternally grateful.”

Kara swallows thickly. “If it helps at all, they never replaced you. I do count them as my parents too, but they’re not replacements. I have room in my heart for all of you. I just view you all as my family.”

Zor-El sniffs, wiping his eyes before tears can even threaten to escape. “That does help, and I’ll be sure to relay the message to your mother. I think she will take comfort in the knowledge too.”

It brings Kara comfort to see this side of her father. She’s aware of his other side, which is selfish, manipulative and dark. She can’t forget that side of him but she likes seeing him how she remembers him. It’s nice and it’s not something she’s upset about.

She offers him a tight-lipped smile and climbs into the pod before making space for him.

He shakes his head at her. “I have been able to acquire a temporary pod so we don’t have to share. I don’t like the thought of you being left at the accommodation without a means of transportation, but I cannot be without the pod as I was last night either. It unsettled me to know that I couldn’t get to the lab in an emergency.”

Kara hums understandingly. “I get it. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For thinking of me.”

“I will never stop thinking of you, Kara. Now, go. I think your passenger is restless and aching to go and collect the rest of your family. The Plane of Wanan awaits.”

-

Kara lands just in front of the accommodation, excited for them to get moving so they can go and see another wonderous sight Krypton has to offer. Esme pushes her teddy towards her and Kara takes it once again. “Come on, let’s go and make some food to take with us and round up your moms so we can go,” Kara says, tucking the teddy under one arm and lifting Esme down from the pod with the other. She’s sure there’s a button she can push somewhere that will make steps protract from the side of the pod, but she hasn’t had enough time to figure it out yet.

They walk into the accommodation like celebrities arriving at a movie premiere, all smiles and waves.”

“Are you guys ready to go see a thing or two?” Kara asks with a grin so wide that not a single person can resist smiling back. Despite that though, not even Lena gets up to greet them.

Esme doesn’t seem to mind, running to her moms with the intent of filling them in on her exciting morning with her aunt. However, Kara is left standing there, teddy in hand as she tilts her head in confusion. “Are you guys not ready?”

“We are. We just know you well enough that we’re certain you have things to do before we leave.” Nia offers up helpfully. “You’re pretty much the queen of doing things at the last minute.”

“I resent that.” Kara huffs, crossing her arms.

Alex pins her with a knowing stare. “So does that mean that we can all go and climb into that pod right now because you’re ready to go?”

“Well, yeah. I just have to pack us some food to take, but other than that, yes.” Kara answers defensively and rolls her eyes when the group starts snickering. “You know what? You guys don’t deserve a nice trip out; you’re all being mean to me and I think I’ll go alone.” She turns on her heel and marches towards the kitchen to the melody of her family’s laughter, all of them seeing through her flimsy threat.

She comes out of the kitchen a while later, food all packed up and ready to take with her and Esme’s teddy still with her since she forgot to put it down before she stomped off. She sets the picnic basket down on a nearby table and walks right past everyone to go and put the teddy away before coming back.

“I’m only taking people with me who apologize for laughing at me.” She announces.

Lena gets up, smiling at her fondly before kissing her cheek. “Darling, you’re not going to win this one. Give it up.” She says, taking her hand and pulling her to the door, her other hand snatching up the basket as they pass it.

Kara is almost to the door before Lena’s charm wears off enough for her to put up a fight. “Wait, no.”

“Come on.” Lena tugs her hand, using their linked fingers to make sure she doesn’t stop. “I want to get going.”

Kara quickly finds herself ushered out of the building and towards the pod, the rest of the group trailing behind them and talking amongst themselves. “You know that I’m offended, right?”

“Kara, you have to admit that you’re kind of known for your last-minute plans.”

“Not always.”

“No, not always, but a lot of the time.” Lena smiles softly, tucking a lock of blonde hair back behind her ear and leaning in once again to press her lips to her cheek. “Don’t worry, I find it endearing.”

Kara huffs but steps back to let everyone climb into the pod before getting in herself. She’s a little grumpy now but Lena sets her hand on her thigh right after she starts up the pod and that helps alleviate her souring mood somewhat, even more so when her nails start softly dragging against the bare skin she finds through the thigh slit in her dress. Lena knows she can’t stay mad when she scratches her softly with her nails, it’s too relaxing. Damn it. Sometimes, it’s annoying just how well Lena knows her.

Kara steels herself whilst simultaneously turning to jelly in her seat under Lena’s tender caress. “You don’t play fair.”

“And you’re only just figuring this out now?”

Kara shrugs. “Sometimes I forget just how many scenarios you can run in your head at once and how you can pick and choose which one to move forward with at any moment.”

“Really?”

“No.” Kara laughs. “Why do you think you haven’t been told the plan yet? I have a very good plan and while you could probably improve it, I think it’ll work.”

Lena shakes her head. “Are you actually going to tell us today?”

“Uh-huh. We start working on stuff tomorrow, so I need you to know what’s happening.”

Stretching her legs as much as possible, Lena rolls the stiffness out of her shoulders. “So, you wouldn’t be telling us if it wasn’t time for us to help with your plan?”

“Exactly.” Kara points at her. “See, I’ve always known you’re smart.”

Fixing her with a deadpan expression, Lena speaks. “And sometimes I think the opposite of you. Do you really believe that taunting a Luthor is a good idea?”

“I’m taunting my girlfriend, not just a Luthor.”

“Double trouble then.”

“What are you two doing? This is disgusting to watch.” Alex complains, her eyes positioned firmly on the back of their seats so she doesn’t accidentally catch her sister canoodling. She doesn’t want to be traumatized more than she already has been by her kid sister and her apparent overwhelming appetite to somehow merge her body with Lena’s based on how much time she spends touching her.

“Babe, let them flirt, it’s cute.” Kelly nudges her.

“If that’s what flirting looks like, then I need to re-evaluate a lot of things in my life.” Alex mutters through her hands as she covers her face, well and truly exasperated.

“Chill out.” Lena turns her head to glance in Alex’s general direction. “This is just how we express our love.”

The redhead huffs in response. “That’s the problem. You can express your love however you want, but that doesn’t mean you get to do it while in a pod with the rest of us.”

“Fine. We’ll tone it down.” Kara jumps in, nudging Lena when her mouth drops open, ready to fire back at her. “We’ll wait until we’re on our own next time, ok?”

“You better do.”

All the while, Nia and Esme are huddled together, utterly oblivious because they’re too busy playing eye-spy out of the window, completely taken by the views the flight is offering them.

Kelly and Alex follow their lead and refocus on looking out of the window for the rest of the flight, and Alex tries to let the sights alleviate some of her irritability.

While they do that, Lena shuffles closer to Kara, resting her head on her shoulder and pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

“Don’t you want to look out of the window too?”

“I’ve already got a good view,” She shrugs, “I’m happy here.”

They fall into a semi-comfortable silence, all of them thinking the same thing. They could use a break from these people when they get back to Earth. They all love each other, but after months of being together almost every minute of the day, they’re done and need a break.

After a while, Kara takes the pod off autopilot, referencing some notes for the directions for a moment, hovering the pod in place while she looks before continuing on for a while.

“We’re here.”

Alex squints, her eyebrows furrowed as she tries to understand how they have reached their destination when they’re very clearly just in the middle of a bog-standard desert. “Did you forget to turn on autopilot?”

Kara rolls her eyes, turning her head slowly before pinning her sister with a freezing cold glare that even has Lena grimacing.

“Darling, I’m excited to see whatever it is you want to show us. Do we get out here?” She squeezes Kara’s thigh softly.

Kara shakes her head. “Not yet. Hold on.”

She had completely stopped the pod, but now she starts it up again, flying close to the ground and going slowly, barely more than a walking pace.

“Are we lost?” Nia asks tentatively, not wanting to be on the receiving end of a Kara Danvers stare-down. She can be scary, and in many ways, she’d prefer to go up against Lena than Kara.

“No, just wait. You’ll see it in a minute.” Kara says, the annoyance evident in her voice even though they can all tell she’s trying to have a little more patience.

They all lean back into their seats, trusting that Kara knows what she’s doing, even if they aren’t one hundred percent certain of that at this exact moment.

The pod keeps crawling forward at a snail’s pace, taking them slowly across what looks like a pretty standard-looking desert, nothing to write home about. The white sand glistens beneath the red sun, coating it in a blood-red hue that is nothing short of magnificent, yet it doesn’t impress them compared to all the other things they’ve seen. 

“Kara, last time we were in a desert, you told us there were snakes. Is there going to be snakes here too?” Nia questions.

“Snakes? No. Not snakes.” Kara rounds a large sand dune and waits for the gasps as everyone spots what she really brought them out here to see.

“Oh, Rao.” Kara gasps, taken aback by the sight she thought she would be unaffected by, but alas, even after all the years away from such a remarkable view, it still has a pull over her she will never be rid of; something she couldn’t be more grateful for. “Now, this is what I brought you out here to see.”

Lena’s grip on her thigh tightens, her jaw slack and hanging open as she squints out into the desert plane ahead of her, a sight taking hold that she never thought she’d see, a picture she couldn’t dream of even if she sleeps for the rest of her life.

Kara tilts her head to look at the rest of the group and smiles smugly at their dumbfounded expressions. “See, I told you, no snakes in sight, just an awe-inspiring view that you’re never going to forget.”

“With a sight like that, I wouldn’t even care if there are snakes.” Nia leans forward, itching to get a closer look.

“No snakes, but there are ducks.”

“In the desert?”

“Yeah…desert ducks.” Kara points generally out of the window.

“You’re lying.”

“I am not.”

“Lena,” Nia whines, trying to get her to step in.

Lena doesn’t react at all, too busy staring out at the vision ahead. Before them lies a quarry of sorts, a large, sunken hole in the ground. That’s not what’s impressive though. What is impressive is the gigantic, majestic sand pillars emerging from the pit's base.

The sand has hardened, or it’s stone or something along those lines. Kara’s not entirely sure, but the sand pillars are taller than the quarry itself, and they imitate the pointed tops of Christmas trees, flaring about halfway down and then sitting steady on a solid ‘trunk’.

Somehow, that’s not what’s taking their breath away though. No, that’s the great sandstorm billowing through the shapes, carving them into their elegant forms with the mighty force only a haboob can hold.

The sand blows up within the wind, forcing it into a dance of abstract shapes, harsh lines and soft gradients in the sky that even a physicist would struggle to explain. It’s nothing quite like what they’ve ever seen before.

“When I was a little girl, my aunt Astra brought me out here to see the ducks and the lizards. She wanted to teach me about them and decided that we could hang out here too. This is a place not many people visit because of the haboobs.”

“What’s a haboob?” Kelly asks, head tilting in confusion and looking like the human embodiment of a Shih Tzu.

“It’s basically a sandstorm. The Plane of Wanan is known for them, but this one is the most famous. It’s trapped in the quarry, never-ending, just lingering and slowly eating away at the pillars. One day, it’ll completely break them down into nothing, escape its confines, and eventually die out. It lives on through its capture. There’s a strange kind of beauty in that.”

“Can we get out and take a closer look?”

Kara shakes her head. “No, I’ll have to move away from it, but there’s a good dune just South of here that’ll be perfect to sit on while we take it all in. When I was little, we used to stare into the sand and try to make out shapes of animals and landmarks.

“Sounds awesome, but I haven’t seen a duck yet.”

“They don’t come out when impatient people are around.” Kara sticks out her tongue at Nia. “Just wait, they’re coming.”

Read the entirety of Back To Krypton on Patreon here!

Find out more about a new Supergirl fandom event for writers and artists here!

[frownyalfred]

having Bruce learn, understand, and speak Kryptonian is such an interesting and heartwarming development, but it’s also kind of a huge liability?

Lex Luthor doesn’t speak Kryptonian, but if he ever found out his pal Bruce Wayne did, somehow? That’s a kidnapping.

Supers are all off planet/out of contact and someone comes looking for them speaking in Kryptonian? Bruce is up on the Watchtower negotiating in fluent Kryptonian.

Someone needs to go handle the Fortress AI while Clark is gone? Bruce gets locked in there for a few days. Even though it can speak English, it prefers Kryptonian. (He’s fine…probably)

[bisupergirl]

Broke: Kara hero-worships Dick

Woke: Kara wants to gatekeep the name Nightwing from him

clark: kara i know you don't really like him but i—

kara: kal he can't even name 5 traditional kryptonian fables featuring nightwing and the moral lessons you're supposed to learn from them....

[mamawasatesttube]

every time i remember how bendis completely destroyed the kon & clark bond i want to start biting and maiming. literally what is the point of it all!!!! just kill kon again im begging!! it'll be funny when the second time around comparatively nobody gives a shit fdklsjdjkd

[im-not-buying-it-ether]

Oh hey what about a groundhogs day event where the hero has to relive their traumatic “One Bad Day”-esque backstory but it’s another hero they either know really well and the only way to break the loop is letting that horrible event happen

Bc I’m basic my first thought was “Oh, this would absolutely tear up anyone having to walk down crime alley knowing way too well what’s about to happen”

But I’m also obsessed with my blorbo so my other thought was “Omg lol, imagine if one of the adult heroes ended up in Billy’s body just before his parents left to go die on their dig and think maybe they can save their co-worker the tragedy he faced so young only for every attempt they succeed at getting them to stay keep the loop going and they realize they have to let them go and doom this kid all over again. Haha, extra points if the loop actually lasts from that point to them actually dying so they wake up the next day thinking they failed again only for it to be tomorrow and suddenly Uncle E gets the call that his brother and sister in law are dead and then whoever is in Billy’s body is getting thrown out with a suitcase realizing maybe the nightmare is going to last longer.”

And I just had to laugh bc goddamn my brain cant stop with angst

[karaspal]

realistically, if kara was to accidentally travel back in time and end up back on krypton, she’d probably want to stay and not actually escape unless someone depends on her and needs her help in the present. then she’d be forced (by her very own moral code) to escape and save them and that will cause her a lot of internal turmoil. and it would be great.

[loverboybrightsideghost]

one of my favorite clark headcanons that i have (that is completely unsupported by canon) is that he's transgender by kryptonian standards. martha and jon kent raised him as a boy and as he grew up he never had any reason to doubt it at all, he was like yeah i'm a boy, makes sense. and then he gets to the fortress of solitude for the first time and it turns out how Gender works on krypton was just Different enough that clark doesn't really fit the kryptonian standards of whatever he was supposed to be. bonus points because this makes him feel like even more of an outsider as a kryptonian, even if he's the last one left.

[vertigoartgore]

1989's Action Comics Vol.1 #644 cover by artist George Pérez (R.I.P.).

[kent-farm]

First day as a reporter. This is like five times more exciting than buying new school supplies. Which, look, I did that!

—Kara, Supergirl, “The Last Children of Krypton”

[phoenixcatch7]

So once more I decide I'd like to make a fic, and thus start doing research because who knows how far my headcanons will be from canon, and again I find surprising things:

This? Is the earth sector. It contains the solar system and a few others. Pretty big, but with all our telescopes today it's all well within reach.

Now, that's a lot of sectors! The universe is a big place! Hundreds of planets and civilisations! So where, in all this mess, do you think krypton will be?

RIGHT NEXT DOOR????

Not even that, it's a lower number! Krypton is closer to the Guardians than we are! We're further in the outskirts of the intergalactic civilisation than krypton??

It's not an empty sector either, far from it! There's at least two other thriving planets in there, one with a peaceful and flourishing green lantern specialising in detecting disasters (I can see why), and another the home of the star sapphires!

(Honestly minus the scattered space debris of what was once an entire hyper advanced species home planet brutally destroyed it sounds a genuinely lovely place to live. A lot more peaceful than its neighbour.)

But krypton is in the Andromeda galaxy... That's so close. The Andromeda galaxy is literally visible from earth to the naked eye. The first recorded photo of it was in the late 1800s. It is THE CLOSEST GALAXY TO THE MILKY WAY.

And superman took a couple decades to travel to earth. Kara took sixty.

Krypton is basically right next to earth and most certainly earth watched it die.

[jellyfishjuliet]

still cant believe a literal GOD saved chris from lover suiciding with his girl, only to pop his ass back into the very phantom zone he came from, just for dc to nuke its own universe. in my heart, chris died a noble death 😔

[chaotic-super]

Back To Krypton - Chapter 31

Read Back To Krypton on AO3 here!

The ship flies closer. It’s a bit bigger than they originally thought, probably around the size of a couple of The Rebellion’s pods if they were put side by side. It hovers overhead, the nose of it pointing right at the dark creature looming over them and then, suddenly, there’s a bright beam of light coming from the front end of the ship, just beneath the nose. It’s neon green and so bright all three women are forced to look away.

They cover their eyes and turn their bodies away from the light to avoid being blinded by it while being immensely confused about who the hell is in this ship and how they know to shine the light at the creature as dark as a shadow in an unlit room.

It turns out, the person doesn’t know it works because it actually doesn’t.

The ginormous creature rears up, showing off its snakelike body as its head, also similar to that of a snake, but with whiskers reaching several feet off the side of its head and the underneath of its chin, drops its jaw in a low screech that’s so loud it shakes the trees and sends the small ship spinning off-kilter through the air.

Kara gasps when she looks up just in time to see the ship careen into a tree and drop down several metres before regaining its stability and flying back up and into the open space.

The creature is moving towards them but there’s nowhere for them to go. They can either make a break for it and hope for the best that they can dig their way out of the fallen trees and foliage that would almost certainly injure them if they tried, or they can try and run back for the ship they have just spend entirely too long escaping to go back inside now.

Kara’s eyes are frantically searching around for somewhere to run to or to hide but there’s nowhere available for them to go.

The ship is lowering down, hovering just above them, but the glass dome fitted over the top of the ship for the pilot to see out of is tinted a harsh blue that they can’t see into, but no doubt the pilot can see out of. All in all, that means they have no way of identifying the pilot at this current moment in time and they haven’t got a clue whether they are a friend or foe.

From beneath the ship, panels slide out to the side and thick, metallic ropes fall from the space exposed, hitting the top of the ship Kara, Lena and Alex are standing on harshly, the impact making a tinny thud and causing the ship to vibrate under their feet for a second.

The implication is clear. They are meant to hold on and then they can be lifted out of there but there’s no way they can leave Bolt behind. They just can’t leave him there to be a snack for this creature.

Alex grabs at one of the ropes, testing its strength in a quick movement but it takes her long enough that she’s lagging behind on the wavelength Lena and Kara seem to be sharing because they waste no time dropping their packs beside the ropes and running towards Bolt as fast as they can.

Alex goes to run after them but can’t because the snake-like animal is really very angry about that green light the pilot of the ship shone at him. Angry enough that it’s now forcing its way around the crashed ship to try and get closer to the small ship, its mouth opening wide. Its jaw unhinges so it can open its mouth wider than normal, wide enough that it’s very possible that it could swallow the small ship whole.

They need to hurry and grab Bolt so they can get out of there. Alex starts working on attaching their packs to the tail end of the ropes, keeping her eye on the movement of their current life-threatening enemy.

It circles, going around and around and around, just twisting and turning over and over, each circle getting closer and closer to its prey. It’s trying to trap the small ship so it has nowhere to go. That’s not true but they can’t go anywhere yet, not until Kara and Lena are back with Bolt.

Kara scurries to Bolt’s side, pushing her way through broken branches to do so and being as careful as she can without dropping her speed down so she doesn’t stand on anything that’s going to make the situation a hundred times worse.

Lena is right behind her, going a little slower and being slightly more careful but still having the same amount of urgency Kara has, rushing to get to the dragon they have formed a bond with.

When they get to him, they are hesitant to touch him at first, the broken trees surrounding him covering him in a light blue sap that is dripping over a lot of his body. That’s not the only thing strange though. He’s ripped off the covering they used for his injured legs and it seems that he has purposely coated his legs in the sap.

Lena recognises it. She’s seen that colour and consistency before, she just knows she has, she’s just not sure where she’s seen it. The blue is striking, it should be easy to place but her brain just isn’t getting it. It’s not clicking just yet. Then it does. It clicks when despite the obvious fear in the dragon, Bolt uses his non-injured leg to scrape at the injured one that’s covered with sap, scratching it.

It’s the cream that they used to heal Nia’s cut from the red plant when they first got here. It’s a healing sap and Bolt knew to cover his leg in it instinctually. It seems as though the itchiness left over is a side-effect that affects everyone, no matter the species.

Now that she knows what it is, Lena lets go of her apprehension, gripping at the harness Alex tied onto Bolt and pulling him out from his hiding spot. He doesn’t put up much of a fight. He’s injured and scared but somehow, he knows he can trust these people, they have done nothing but feed him and help him when he’s injured and to his fiery soul, that’s all it takes for him to trust them.

He scuttles in the direction Lena is pulling the harness, following along and hurrying up even more when Kara takes the harness on the other side, helping him as much as she can given that he’s a very large dragon with a whole lot of weight behind him.

They get out of the trees that Bolt had run into to find that they are blocked from getting to the ship, the body of the snake stopping them from being able to get any closer. It has scales and the texture of its body is much closer to that of an alligator, ridged and rough. There’s also a thin layer of what looks to be some kind of algae across its underside, prompting them to deduce that it’s likely been through either semi-shallow water recently or a damp marsh area. Something they haven’t seen so it must be a resident of deeper into the jungle.

As it moves, Lena takes notice of something odd, yet fascinating. It’s got a kind of flipper beneath it, several of them in fact, all in two separate lines in correspondence with the flow of its body and they are trudging against the ground, pushing the dirt up while simultaneously causing forward momentum for itself.

Lena’s scientific mind is intrigued by it. It furthers its surroundings and the ecosystem by creating fresh ground for seeds and such, making sure that new life can continuously grow even in places where the ground is solid.

They need to find a way to get over to Alex and the ship and preferably before the weird snake eats anyone or anything.

With a creature this big, they are unlikely to be able to cause enough damage to actually stop it or kill it and since the leopards ran from it, it’s safe to say their teeth are probably useless against it, so its skin must be thick. She has to attack somewhere that‘s going to hurt and she’s going to have to attack at the only point that might just be weak enough for her to cause some damage.

Lena still has the sword in her hand and she is about to go for it when she has an idea. She walks in front of Bolt and holds the sword out before instructing him to breathe out an almighty ball of fire by smoothing her hand out under his chin, the flames scorching so hot they light the blade up and cause it to turn a stark orange and then red in just a matter of seconds.

As soon as the blade is ready, Lena moves, running forward with her sights set on her target. The problem is that her target also has its eyes set on her. The flames Bolt breathed onto the sword have caught the attention of the dark creature and it’s now set its terrifying orange eyes onto Lena’s form, focused on the sword as it shines.

Kara watches in horror as in almost slow motion, the creature’s head dives down towards where Lena is running, suddenly all too aware that the light only serves to attract the creature and from the looks of it, turns it feral too. Well, more feral.

She wants to react, to get to Lena and protect her somehow but her body is frozen, time slowing down and her feet are fixed to the floor. There’s no way she can get there in time. Right as its colossal jaws are about to snatch Lena up, Lena manages to jam the sword into one of the fins, impaling it and digging the blade into the ground below.

It screeches once again, this time a high pitches squeal of pure pain. Lena yanks the sword back up and then does the same thing to the fin in front of it, stabbing it and trying not to feel guilty for the agonizing screams she’s causing.

It does the trick though because the snake-like creature does exactly what she hoped it would do. It runs. Or slithers. Or flaps its fins, until it’s forced its way through the broken treeline and out of their sight.

Kara’s feet unstick from the ground, her muscles unfreezing, and she pulls Bolt forward, urging him to go as fast as he can. Lena grabs onto the harness too as they come past her, the sword still in her hand, rapidly cooling.

Alex is standing, still holding onto one of the ropes, while tapping her foot impatiently. “There you guys are, we have to go before it comes back!”

They need no more prompting to hurry and Alex attaches the harness to the back two ropes. There are four ropes in total, all in a square so the three of them and their packs are using the front two.

They don’t have time to attach themselves to the ropes properly but since Alex has knotted the packs to the bottom, they just have to place their feet on the knots and keep a good grip on the ropes to keep them steady. Alex has the rope to Kelex tied around her waist and the remote tucked into her hand.

Somehow they’ve actually done it. They have the samples, all of their things, Bolt, and most of their dignity intact. Alex yells up as loud as she can. “Clear!”

Either the pilot understands English or it’s just easy to decipher what she means because not a moment later, the ship is rising, pulling them with it. There’s a little uneasiness at first because the ship groans in a way that makes them believe for a second that it’s not going to make it, but then it steadies itself, the back end dipping a little bit dramatically because of Bolt’s weight but in no time at all, they are soaring above the treeline.

Lena starts laughing, purely out of relief when they are high up enough that she can consider them safe from any uncouth animals with snappy jaws. Her laughter makes Kara laugh, who is sharing the rope with her, her arms wrapping around Lena tightly, making her feel safer as she dangles very far above the ground.

At first, Alex is annoyed at the way they’re laughing but then a miracle happens; she starts giggling too. The giggle turns into a full belly laugh, one they all share, laughing in a situation that isn’t funny but for some reason, it is.

It is funny. Until they look down and see a trail of trees being battered and demolished, the odd shine of black scales peeking through the destruction. “Oh shit,” Alex mutters, all laughter gone.

The pilot must notice at a similar time that they do because the ship slows to a stop, just hovering in place.

“Why are we stopping?” Lena panics, her grip on the rope getting weaker as her palms grow sweaty from the fear and adrenaline that’s still coursing through her and a faint itching from the sap that got onto her kicking in. Kara looks up at the bottom of the ship, wishing she could see up into it to see who the pilot is so she can ask them what the hell they are doing.

She looks down to see that the creature has stopped. It’s following them and the pilot has stopped so they don’t lead it back to wherever it is they’re being taken. What now though?”

They are just hovering a ways above the treeline with the knowledge that they are being dangled over the top of where a, most likely, furious, gigantic animal is lurking and waiting for them. They need to find a way to get it to stop chasing them and there’s one way they know how to do that. They need light and they need it to stay constant because the second it stops, it will try to follow them again.

“Light! We need light!” Lena yells.

“Kara, see if you can get the pilot to put the lights back on!” Alex shouts over to her sister.

Kara shakes her head. “It won’t work. It would just make it follow us more. We need Bolt to set fire to a tree.”

“We could burn down the whole shitting jungle!” Alex shouts. “We can’t do that!”

“No, we won’t! Trust me, the council tried that decades ago to get rid of it because it’s so dangerous. As you can see, that didn’t work so just listen to me.”

Lena tilts her head towards the H’Raka, shouting as loud as she can for Bolt. “Bolt, breathe fire, buddy come on.”

He ignores her. He only does it very specifically when someone rubs beneath his chin, just as Lena did earlier to get him to ignite her blade and they are hanging from ropes off a ship, they can’t exactly just reach over and do it.

“Lena, swing.” Kara only gives her that instruction once before starting to swing the rope herself, leaning back and then thrusting forward to try and gain momentum on the rope to swing towards Bolt.

Lena half-screams with the first swing, not having had enough time to register Kara’s words before she started moving. “Ah, Kara!”

“We have to swing, Lena.” Kara tries again, not stopping her movements, as awkward as they are with Lena and their packs also attached to the rope.

Given a little more warning, Lena moves with her, getting the rope swinging nicely towards where Bolt is suspended.

When they get a good swing, Kara does something else that takes Lena by surprise, not filling her in on the plan when she makes a leap for it, letting go of the rope at the apex of the swing and reaching out with her hands blindly in the hope that she can get a handle on Bolt’s harness.

It all happens so fast that even Kara isn’t entirely sure what she’s doing but someone answers her mid-air prayers that she isn’t about to fall to her death because, with one hand, she manages to grasp her fingers around Bolt’s head harness.

Bolt is a lot less thrilled than she is though because the sudden pull and weight on his harness pulls at his head and forces his snout down and subsequently, tilting the ship with it, forcing it to make a panicking whirring sound to not make them all crash and burn, literally.

The change in momentum from Kara jumping and then ship tilting throws Lena off balance, causing her hands to slip. Thankfully, she ends up falling and landing on the packs, one leg on either side of one of the packs like she’s sat on a swing of sorts.

Alex has to hold back her snort at the sight of a baffled, slightly traumatized Lena Luthor as she swings idly on the pack, her hands grasping at the rope once again, a lot tighter this time though.

Kara manages to get a second hand onto the harness and with burning fingers from the rope, she swings her legs out to wrap around the H’Raka the best she can, getting a good grip so she can duck her head out of the firing line before she runs beneath his chin. The reaction is instant. A great flame bursts forth from his mouth and points down towards the trees below.

They’re too high up. It won’t reach.

Kara is desperate at this point, her grip slipping. She can’t hold on much longer in this position and she can’t climb onto Bolt’s back until he’s managed to light up a tree. The likelihood of the pilot speaking Kryptonese is much higher than them speaking English so she shouts out as loud as she can for them to lower the ship. “Fahrosh!”

It appears that whoever is piloting the ship understands, which isn’t too shocking since they are on Krypton because slowly, the ship lowers down until they are closer to the tree line. The descent is slower than Kara’s aching muscles would like and they get much lower than she’d like too but she’s got no choice in the matter. She’s just barely clinging on but she manages to let go with one hand just long enough to get Bolt to breathe fire once again. Bullseye.

A tree bursts into flames and the creature is atop of it in a matter of seconds, its long black body surrounding it in circles in a similar way to how it was surrounding the ship earlier.

The pilot has enough sense that the creature being distracted means they can pull up and get them all the hell out of there and Kara climbs up onto Bolt’s back, shaking her arms out once she’s settled because she can barely feel her forearms or her fingers. If Lena thinks there’s going to be any kind of celebration for not dying tonight, she’s going to be sorely mistaken. Then again, her tongue isn’t tired.

Speak of the devil, Lena is still sitting on her ‘swing’, looking down at the treetops and the symphony of red as they pass over The Scarlet Jungle. A place they most definitely do not want to visit again. Alex actually follows her lead, using her own pack as a swing. She tied the knots so she’s certain they’ll hold. It’s not even in question.

As she does so, she lowers Kelex down to her level and then for the first time since watching Kara’s giant leap for alien kind, thinks that maybe it would have been better if she had just clung to Kelex and gotten him to taxi her over to Bolt. She’s not going to mention that to Kara though because she’s got a proud smile across her face and her chest is puffed out like she’s the greatest athlete that’s ever lived.

All of them semi-comfortable, or at the very least, not expecting to fall to their deaths at any moment, they all watch the trees as they are airlifted out of the most precarious position they have ever been in while slowly being filled with more and more anxiety about who it is that is rescuing them. There’s a price for everything and they don’t have much they can offer.

They move at a fast but steady pace and make it out of the general area of The Scarlet Jungle just as the sun is beginning to set. The ship lowers down until the bottom of the ropes, and subsequently, the packs, hit the ground and then it just hovers to allow them to untie everything they have and free Bolt from the rope suspension and get out of the way so it can land properly.

They stand off to one side, Bolt sitting down beside them, happy to have his massive feet back on the ground. He might be used to flying but he’s not used to travelling commercial. They did not get economy seats. They pretty much travelled by Earth’s equivalent of being duct taped to the side of a plane.

As the ship lands softly beside them, they wait with bated breath for the glass dome to retract and expose their saviour to the open air.

It feels like forever before it finally slides down enough for them to see the pilot’s face and Kara’s stomach drops the second it does, tears flooding her eyes and her chin wobbling.

Lena is left in the dark about the identity of this person but Alex recognises them. She recognises them because she’s seen this face before but only in the form of a hologram from a crystal.

“Mom?”

Alura steps out of the ship and hesitantly reaches forward for Kara. “Kara, is it really you? You’re all grown up.”

Kara knows she shouldn’t. The timeline is probably super messed up from this already and if she was smart then she would walk in the other direction. Her head isn’t doing the thinking though, now it’s her heart’s turn to take over. She steps into her mother’s arms, her head burying into the crook of her neck and her arms wrapping around her mother’s waist tightly.

Lena’s jaw is on the ground from how shocked she is. This is Kara’s mother. Kara’s mother just rescued them from being killed out in The Scarlet Jungle. How in the world did she know where to find them? Something is very clearly amiss.

Alex seems to be having a very similar reaction to Lena’s. She has no idea how she’s meant to react to it all so she’s just sort of standing there as she watches Kara cling to her mother. Her mother that she hasn’t seen since she was twelve years old. Her mother that has been dead for years, except they’re in the past and now she’s here. Yep, the timeline is screwed. Fuck.

“Kara?” Lena calls out, needing confirmation that this really is who they think it is.

Kara pulls back but doesn’t turn towards Lena. She stares at her mother’s face while Alura cups Kara’s cheeks in her warm hands, her eyes drifting over Kara’s face, much more mature than that of her daughter from her current time.

Alura assesses every detail of her face and Kara does the same. She’s exactly how she remembers her, smell and all. She can’t count how many times over the years she has yearned for a hug from her mom and now she’s had one and she doesn’t want to let her go. She has to though, there’s too much to do, too many answers to seek.

“I can’t believe it’s really you. How are you here?” Kara’s voice is shaky and a couple of tears run down her cheeks only to be wiped away by a flick of Alura’s thumbs.

“Astra asked me to come.”

Now they are all even more confused. Even Lena, who until a moment ago had no idea what Alura even looks like, is confused because it’s common knowledge that Alura and Astra didn’t get along. Alura is the one that sentenced Astra to Fort Rozz and subsequently, The Phantom Zone.

Kara shakes her head. “Why would she do that? Where is she?”

Alura’s expression darkens and Kara sees the answer written across her face. “You’ve sentenced her already?”

“She handed herself in peacefully in exchange for my help. I had no idea who I was rescuing until I showed up and saw your face. I could pick that face out in a crowd of any size, my daughter, no matter what age you are.” Alura’s voice is soft, perhaps even softer than her expression as her fingers play with Kara’s hair.

“I guess history played out how it was meant to after all.” Kara peers back over her shoulder. “Astra being sentenced to Fort Rozz is something that needed to happen anyway. I just wish I could have said goodbye one last time.”

Alex’s big sister instincts kick in at seeing Kara upset and she doesn’t care if her mom is there, she’s going to force her way over to give her sister a hug. “Come here.”

Kara turns to Alex and lets herself be bundled up into her arms. “Rao, I’m a mess.”

“That’s ok,” Alex reassures her. “This is a lot, we get it.”

Lena is not one to just stand by while everyone is comforting her girlfriend but she doesn’t want to force Kara to break the hug so she just piles in, wrapping her arms around the pair, really quite aware of Alura watching them carefully, as if she’s trying to figure something out.

When the hug breaks, Alura speaks. “Inah, who are your friends?”

Kara’s heart skips a beat at the name. It’s just a simple word, the Kryptonese equivalent of ‘daughter’ but it’s such a long-forgotten memory that she barely registers the question that followed the name. “It’s been a long time since someone has called me that.”

“Why? Your father and I refer to you by that name often Kara.” Alura looks genuinely confused and it knocks the air out of the lungs of the other women. She doesn’t know she’s going to die soon. With her being a member of the council and the council hiding the state of the planet, Kara has always assumed she knew about Krypton’s impending doom. Maybe she doesn’t. Or maybe she does but has an escape plan for them all, one that will never come to fruition.

Kara wipes her cheeks, freeing them of the tears that just won’t stop no matter how hard she tries to stop them. “It doesn’t matter. This is Alex and this is Lena.” She points to them in turn, careful not to give away their relationships, she’s already had one slip-up that could already affect the future as they know it, and she can’t afford any more.

“It’s lovely to meet you. I am Alura Zor-El, formerly Alura In-Ze and I am Kara’s mother. I believe we all have much to discuss.”

Read the next 4 chapters early on Patreon here!

[capsensislagamoprh]

So, if I wrote a really shity original story, would anyone read it? Gots magic. Time travel. Dragon blooded. And an ass who STOLE A PONY! Oh. And like, bad guys that need to be defeated or whatever.

[bisupergirl]

supergirl vol 5 #36 || war of the supermen #1

[mamawasatesttube]

sometimes im hit by the urge to do a massive overhaul on sotm and rewrite the entire first half of it now that ive read more comics and have more opinions. like i probably won't bc i have other stuff i wanna write but also im like constantly tempted by the idea of completely redoing ch3 bc i want kon & kara bonding augh

[ketchup-monthly]

me reading horrible comics in the hopes that they bring my boy back: